Diabetes drug Mounjaro helped people lose 16% of weight, study findsTwo trials have now found tirzepatide, sold under the brand name Mounjaro as a diabetes treatment, to be effective for weight loss. It is likely to be approved later this year.

In a second large study, the drug Mounjaro, now used to treat diabetes, has shown its effectiveness at helping people lose weight.

The drug is not yet approved for weight loss, but likely will be later this year, now that two trials have found it effective with similar side effects as other weight loss medications. 

The study, released by drug-maker Eli Lilly on Thursday, showed participants with diabetes lost nearly 16% of their weight over the 18-month trial. The company had already shown that the same drug, sold under the generic name tirzepatide, could help people with obesity but not diabetes lose as much as 20% of their body weight.

It is generally harder for people with diabetes to lose weight and this is the first drug trial to show such significant weight loss for people with the disease, according to Lilly associate vice president Dr. Nadia Nazir Ahmad. So far, data on the drug has only been released via a company press release. Ahmad said Lilly plans to release full results at the American Diabetes Association's annual meeting in San Diego in June and submit them to a peer-reviewed journal.

What is tirzepatide and how does it compare to Ozempic and Wegovy?

Tirzepatide, sold under the brand name Mounjaro, is approved for the treatment of diabetes. 

It is believed to act on obesity in two ways, Ahmad said, by reducing appetite and affecting how the body burns fat. 

Semaglutide, the generic name for the drug in both Ozempic and Wegovy, acts only on the first of those and thus appears to be slightly less effective at promoting weight loss, though they have never been compared in a head-to-head study. Lilly is currently in the planning stages for one, Ahmad saidBoth semaglutide and tirzepatide are delivered by weekly injection.